Wednesday, September 4, 2013

We ended the summer with a wonderful week in Acadia National Park in Maine. Earlier this summer my cousin, an amazing artist and photographer, visited us and gave me a few tips on photography. She got me started on using Aperture Priority mode. Not quite full Manual mode, but a big step up from Auto! I tried to practice what she taught me on our vacation and these are some of my favorite shots.

Over the summer I signed up for a popular online photography course that will be held this fall. I can't wait to learn even more!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Ok, clearly my New Year's Resolutions were a bust. What did I say I was going to do? I had to look back at my old posts from 6 months ago to remember! Hmmm....

1) Lose the 15-20 lbs of baby weight that refuse to disappear nicely on their own!2) Read 25 books.3) Explore a new hobby and take more pictures.4) Blog more.
Yeah, that didn't quite go as planned. I think my main problem with New Year's Resolutions is that the year is interrupted by summer vacation. I got into a nice routine of going to the gym a couple times a week, and then school got out and I never went again. I was reading more books while Baby A napped, and then school got out and Baby A stopped napping because his brothers were home. I could never get a moment's peace and I never read anything again. All those purchases on my Kindle are just taunting me now. I did try to take more pictures, and finally succeeded last week when we were away on vacation. But otherwise this was a no go. And since I didn't blog a single time all summer, clearly, that was a bust too.

What was I doing with all that summer time off? Hopefully, I was creating good memories for my kids, but honestly I'm not really sure. The summer seemed to stretch out so far into the distance back in June, and then all of a sudden it was over. We didn't tick off half the things on our annual summer adventures list (which I failed to post this year...). We even missed blueberry picking, which frankly is just sacrilegious in my book.

We were busy with other things though. My in-laws, who spend most of the year in Florida, decided to spend their summer in our neck of the woods, and it was great for the boys to see them every week. Time with their grandparents has become even more important, because I've become painfully aware this year that one never knows how much time is left. My mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer back in April and that has made me face a lot of hard realities. The boys have adjusted to her illness fairly well, and seem to interact with her in the same way they always have (although they do periodically mention that they will be happy when her hair grows back). Watching her go through surgery and chemo
has been very difficult, and I think the stress of that has taken more of a
toll on me than I realized. Honestly, there's just not much energy left for resolutions.

But today C & O are back to school. A third grader and a first grader. Unbelievable!
With the start of school, comes the chance to return to routines, which I think I need as much as they do. Maybe the secret to successful resolutions is to follow the school year calendar. Because today feels like New Year's Day to me! Maybe I'll give these another try. Happy School Year's Day!